POEM OF THE DEEP SONG

POEMA DEL CANTE JONDO

8 POEM OF THE DEEP SONG
POEM OF THE DEEP SONG
POEMA DEL CANTEJONDO
by
Federico Garcia Lorca
Translated by
Carlos Bauer
T
City Lights Books
San Francisco
1987 by City Lights Books
Translation 1987 by Carlos Bauer
Poema del cante jondo was first published by Ulises: Madrid, 1931.
Cover design by Gent Sturgeon
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Garcia Lorca, Federico, 1898-1936.
Poem of the deep song
Translation of: Poema del cante jondo.
I. Title
PQ6613.A763P613
1987 861'.62 87-11806
I SBN 0-87286-205-4
10987
City Lights Books are available to bookstores through our primary
distributor: Subterranean Company. P.O. Box 160, 265 S. 5th St.,
Monroe, OR 97456. 541-847-5274. FAX 541-847-6018. Our books
are also available through library jobbers and regional distributors.
For personal orders and catalogs, please write to City Lights Books
261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94133.
Visit us at http://www.citylights.com
CI TY LI GHTS BOOKS are edited by Lawrence Ferlinghetti and
Nancy J. Peters and published at the City Lights Bookstore,
261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94133.
CONTENTS
I ntroduction by Carlos Bauer i
Baladilla de los Tres Rios / Little Ballad of the Three Rivers 2
POEM A DE LA S1GUIR1YA GI TANA
Paisaje / Landscape 6
La Guitarra / The Guitar 8
El Grito / The Cry 10
El Silencio / The Silence 12
El Paso de la Siguiriya / The Passing Stage of the Siguiriya 14
Despues de Pasar / After Passing By 16
Y Despues / And After That 18
POEMA DE LA SOLEA
Evocation / Evocation 20
Pueblo / Village 22
Punal / Dagger 24
Encrucijada / Crossroads 26
jAy! / Ay! 28
Sorpresa / Surprise 30
La Soled / The Soled 32
Cueva / Cave 34
Encuentro / Encounter 36
Alba / Dawn 38
POEMA DE LA SAETA
Arqueros / Archers 40
Noche / Night 42
Sevilla / Sevilla 44
Procesion / Procession 46
Paso / Stage 48
Saeta / Saeta 50
Balcon / Balcony 52
Madrugada / Before the Dawn 54
GRAFI CO d e l a p e t e n e r a
Campana / Bell 56
Camino / Road 58
Las Seis Cuerdas / The Six Strings 60
Danza / Dance 62
Muerte de la Petenera / Death of the Petenera 64
Falseta / Guitar Flourish 66
De Profundis / De Profundis 68
Clamor / Death Knell 70
DOS MUCHACHAS
La Lola / Lola 72
Amparo / Amparo 74
V1NETAS FLAMENCAS
Retrato de Silverio Franconetti / Portrait of
Silverio Franconetti 76
Juan Breva / Juan Breva 78
Cafe Cantante / Flamenco Cabaret 80
Lamentacion de la Muerte / Lamentation of Death 82
Conjuro / I ncantation 84
Memento / Memento 86
TRES CI UDADES
Malaguefia / Malaguena 88
Barrio de Cordoba / Neighborhood in Cordoba 90
Baile / Dance 92
SEIS CAPR1CHOS
A divinanza de la Guitarra / Riddle of the Guitar 94
Candil / Oil Lamp 96
Crotalo / Castanet 98
Chumbera / Prickly Pear 100
Pita / Maguey Plant 102
Cruz / Cross 104
ESCENA DEL TENI ENTE CORONEL
DE LA GUARD1A CI VI L
Cuarto de Banderas / Guardroom 106
Cancion del Gitano Apaleado / Song of the Beaten Gypsy 114
DI ALOGO DEL AM ARGO
Campo / Countryside 116
Cancion de la Madre del Amargo / Song of Amargos Mother 131
Translators Notes
133
INTRODUCTION
In 1921, Federico Garcia Lorca wrote his first major work, Poem of
the Deep Song. With this short book of poems, the twenty-three-year
old poet had crystallized the themes that would run through all his
great works: love, death, and alienation. For Lorca, this book repre
sents a first step of exploration into the existential character of the
Andalusian soul. Lorca employed the same outlet though in a
somewhat different way that the Andalusian people had tradition
ally used to express their feelings: deep song.
A few words about deep song or cante jondo. Lorcas own ideas
about its origins were influenced by the research of his friend, the
composer Manuel de Falla. Lorca: The historical events Falla [says]
have influenced [our] songs are three: the Spanish Church adopting
the Byzantine liturgical chant, the Saracen invasion, the arrival of
numerous bands of Gypsies. They are those mysterious, wandering
folk who gave deep song its definitive form. Ten years later, after new
studies had been published in Spain, Lorca would speak of the Seph-
ardic influence on deep song. Most students of Spanish folk music
believe that an antecedent to deep song combining native Andal
usian, Arab and Hebrew elements existed prior to the arrival of
the Gypsies from I ndia in 1477. What they maintain is that each
succeeding immigration especially Jew, Moor and Gypsy grafted
onto the primitive Andalusian folk song parts of their own musical
traditions.
Critics hold flamenco in lesser esteem than deep song, viewing
flamenco as a mere shadow of deep song, which has a far greater
emotional and lyric impact. (An analagous situation in American
music might be the relationship between blues and rock and roll.) Or
as Lorca himself put it: Local color [flamenco] as opposed to spiritual
color [deep song] that is the profound difference.
Cante jondo, in the 1880s, went from the seedy tavern to the caba
ret and, in the process, changed from the plaintive, solitary cry of the
Andalusian soul into the musical hall spectacular of flamenco, where
flashy commercialism gradually prevailed.
Lorca presents the four major songs that comprise cante jondo:
The Gypsy Siguiriya. Lorca believed this song to be the genuine,
perfect prototype of deep song, the one that most preserved its
ancient oriental origins. Siguiriyas are sung with a rising emotional
tension, interrupted by sudden cries of anguish (the ay\), and unex
pected silences. The song ends with a gradual fading away of both
voice and guitar. The lyrics express lifes most tragic dramas, its intens-
est moments. Because of its extreme emotional demands, mastering
the siguiriya is the apex of a singers quest.
The Soled. Soled is an Andalusian corruption of soledad, solitude.
This song looks back to a tragic past. The mood is melancholy, and
the lyrics show a resignation to fate. The soled is also intended for
dance.
The Saeta. This song is a musical prayer that is sung during Holy
Week in Sevilla. It is always sung without guitar accompaniment, and
always sung to Christ or the Virgin, representations of whom are
carried through the streets on hand-held floats (the Stages of the
Passion). When the procession stops, a saeta is sung as an offering.
Saeta means arrow or barb, and Lorca plays on its double meaning;
the piercing cries of the saeta become arrows, and the singers of saetas
become archers.
The Petenera. The petenera is not usually considered to be part of
cante jondo but rather an intermediate song, halfway between cante
jondo and flamenco. Derived from Andalusian folk song, it was later
given its final form by Sephardic Jews. It is intended for dance, and
has guitar accompaniment. Its themes resemble those of the soled, as
does its mood of bitter fatalism.
For years it had been assumed that Lorca wrote Poemof the Deep
Song specifically for the Competition of Deep Song, which was
organized by Lorca and Manuel de Falla, and held in Granada during
June of 1922. Recent scholarship, however, has shown that the seeds
if not the actual writing of this book were germinating long
before the idea of a competition had even been suggested. The group
to which Garcia Lorca and Falla belonged were concerned that deep
song would disappear, as were many other Spaniards. (Lorca would
later say: The artistic treasure of an entire race is on the road to
oblivion. . .Old men are taking to the grave priceless treasures of
past generations. . . . ) Although the group had originally wanted to
start a cafe cantante dedicated to the preservation of deep song, the
project was never realized; but near the end of 1921 the idea of the
competition began to take shape. More than likely, Lorca began writ
ing parts of Poem of the Saeta not long after a Holy Week excursion
to Sevilla he made with Falla in the spring of 1921, that had affected
him profoundly.
Poemof the Deep Song was first published in 1931, a decade after it
was written; however, it is not far different from the 1921 manuscript.
In readying the work for publication, Lorca restructured the end of
the book, made some final corrections, and added two dramatic dia
logues (written in 1925) to fill out a very short volume of poems. He
also eliminated some fourteen poems from the book, though some
had already been crossed out in pencil in the original manuscript.
Poemof the Deep Song is in no way a book of imitation cante jondo
lyrics, rather it is an exploration into the soul of this Gypsy-Andalusian-
flamenco cosmos: the poems are images provoked by deep song, the
emotions produced within the listener. Yet while Lorca strove to
capture essences, his poems express the same themes and world view
as cante jondo, and they recreate a tapestry of Andalusias mystery
and pain. The true Andalusia, the one lying just beneath its sun
drenched landscape. What we have here is not some tourist Andal
usia filled with happy-go-lucky Gypsies and picturesque whitewashed
villages. Lorca has given us a corner of the earth that is populated by
dead lovers and lost, wandering souls; where the blade of a knife
flashing in the black, the desolate cry, and a millennium of tears
expose Andalusias almost erotic passion for life, and for death.
Carl os Bauer
SB POEM OF THE DEEP SONG
BALADI LLA DE LOS TRES RlOS
A Salvador Quintero
El rio Guadalquivir
va entre naranjos y olivos.
Los dos rios de Granada
bajan de la nieve al trigo.
/Ay, amor
que se fue y no vino!
El rio Guadalquivir
tiene las barbas granates.
Los dos rios de Granada,
uno llanto y otro sangre.
jAy, amor
que se fue por el aire!
Para los barcos de vela,
Sevilla tiene un camino;
por el agua de Granada
solo reman los suspiros.
;Ay, amor
que se fue y no vino!
Guadalquivir, alta torre
y viento en los naranjales.
Darro y Genii, torrecillas
muertas sobre los estanques.
2
LI TTLE BALLAD OF THE THREE RI VERS
To Salvador Quintero
The river Guadalquivir
winds through orange and olive trees.
The two rivers of Granada
descend from the snow to the wheat.
Ay, love
that went away and never returned!
The river Guadalquivir
has whiskers of garnet.
The two rivers of Granada,
one weeping and the other blood.
Ay, love
that went away through the air!
For ships with sail
Sevilla has a route;
in the waters of Granada
only sighs row about.
Ay, love
that went away and never returned!
Guadalquivir, a tall tower
and wind in the orange groves.
Darro and Genii, dead little
towers rising from the lakes.
3
jAy, amor
que se fue por el aire!
jQuien dira que el agua lleva
un fuego fatuo de gritos!
jAy, amor
que se fue y no vino!
Lleva azahar, lleva olivas,
Andaluda, a tus mares.
jAy, amor
que se fue por el aire!
4
Ay, love
that went away through the air!
One could say that the water carries
a will-o-the-wisp filled with cries!
Ay, love
that went away and never returned!
Carry orange blossom, carry olives,
A ndal usia, down to your seas.
Ay, love
that went away through the air!
5
93 POEMA DE LA SIGUIRIYA GITANA
A Carlos Morla Vicuna
PAI SAJE
El campo
de olivos
se abre y se cierra
como un abanico.
Sobre el olivar
hay un cielo hundido
y una lluvia oscura
de luceros frios.
Tiembla junco y penumbra
a la orilla del no.
Se riza el aire gris.
Los olivos
estan cargados
de gritos.
Una bandada
de pajaros cautivos,
que mueven sus larguisimas
colas en lo sombrio.
6
POEM OF THE GYPSY SIGUIRIYA
To Carlos Morla Vicuna
LANDSCAPE
The field
of olive trees
opens and closes
like a fan.
Above the olive grove
there is a sunken sky
and a dark shower
of cold stars.
Bulrush and twilight tremble
at the edge of the river.
The grey air ripples.
The olive trees
are charged
with cries.
A flock
of captive birds,
shaking their very long
tail feathers in the gloom.
7
LA GUITARRA
Empieza el llanto
de la guitarra.
Se rompen las copas
de la madrugada.
Empieza el llanto
de la guitarra.
Es inutil
callarla.
Es imposible
callarla.
Llora monotona
como llora el agua,
como llora el viento
sobre la nevada.
Es imposible
callarla.
Llora por cosas
lejanas.
Arena del Sur caliente
que pide camelias blancas.
Llora flecha sin bianco,
la tarde sin manana,
y el primer pajaro muerto
sobre la rama.
jOh guitarra!
Corazon malherido
por cinco espadas.
THE GUITAR
The weeping
of the guitar begins.
Wineglasses shatter
in the dead of night.
The weeping
of the guitar begins.
Its useless
to hush it.
Its impossible
to hush it.
It weeps on monotonously
the way water weeps,
the way wind weeps
over the snowdrifts.
Its impossible
to hush it.
It weeps for things
far, far away.
For the sand of the hot South
that begs for white camellias.
Weeps for arrows without targets,
an afternoon without a morning,
and for the first dead bird
upon the branch.
Oh, guitar!
Heart gravely wounded
by five swords.
9
EL GRITO
La elipse de un grito
va de monte
a monte.
Desde los olivos,
sera un arco iris negro
sobre la noche azul.
iAy!
Como un arco de viola,
el grito ha hecho vibrar
largas cuerdas del viento.
iAy!
(Las gentes de las cuevas
asoman sus velones.)
iAy!
10
THE CRY
The ellipse of a cry
travels from mountain
to mountain.
From the olive trees
it appears as a black
rainbow upon the blue night.
Ay!
Like the bow of a viola
the cry has made the long
strings of the wind vibrate.
Ay!
(The folks from the caves
stick out their oil lamps.)
Ay!
11
EL SILENCIO
Oye, hijo mio, el silencio.
Es un silencio ondulado,
un silencio,
donde resbalan valles y ecos
y que inclina las frentes
hacia el suelo.
12
THE SI LENCE
Listen, my son: the silence.
Its a rolling silence,
a silence
where valleys and echoes slip,
and it bends foreheads
down towards the ground.
13
EL PASO DE LA SIGUIRIYA
Entre mariposas negras,
va una muchacha morena
junto a una blanca serpiente
de niebla.
Tierra de luz,
cielo de tierra.
Va encadenada al temblor
de un ritmo que nunca llega;
tiene el corazon de plata
y un purial en la diestra.
<<Adonde vas, siguiriya,
con un ritmo sin cabeza?
<;Que luna recogera
tu dolor de cal y adelfa?
Tierra de luz,
cielo de tierra.
14
THE PASSI NG STAGE OF THE SI GUI RI YA
Among black butterflies
goes a dark'haired girl
next to a white serpent
of mist.
Earth of light,
sky of earth.
She is chained to the tremor
of a never arriving rhythm;
she has a heart of silver
and a dagger in her right hand.
Where are you going, siguiriya,
with such a headless rhythm?
What moonll gather up your pain
of whitewash and oleander?
Earth of light,
sky of earth.
15
DESPUES DE PASAR
Los nirios miran
un punto lejano.
Los candiles se apagan.
Unas muchachas ciegas
preguntan a la luna,
y por el aire ascienden
espirales de llanto.
Las montanas miran
un punto lejano.
16
AFTER PASSING BY
The children observe
a point far, far away.
The oil lamps are put out.
Some blind girls
question the moon,
and through the air rise
spirals of weeping.
The mountains observe
a point far, far away.
17
Y DESPUES
Los laberintos
que crea el tiempo,
se desvanecen.
(Solo queda
el desierto.)
El corazon,
fuente del deseo,
se desvanece.
(Solo queda
el desierto.)
La ilusion de la aurora
y los besos,
se desvanecen.
Solo queda
el desierto.
Un ondulado
desierto.
18
AND AFTER THAT
The labyrinths
that time creates
vanish.
(Only the desert
remains.)
The heart,
fountain of desire,
vanishes.
(Only the desert
remains.)
The illusion of dawn
and kisses
vanish.
Only the desert
remains.
A rolling
desert.
19
SB POEMA DE LA SOLEA
A Jorge Zalamea
EVOCACI ON
Tierra seca,
tierra quieta
de noches
inmensas.
(Viento en el olivar,
viento en la sierra.)
Tierra
vieja
del candil
y la pena.
Tierra
de las hondas cisternas.
Tierra
de la muerte sin ojos
y las flechas.
(Viento por los caminos.
Brisa en las alamedas.)
20
58 POEM OF THE SOLEA
To Jorge Zalamea
EVOCATI ON
Dry land,
still land
of immense
nights.
(Wind in the olive grove,
wind in the sierra.)
Ancient
land
of oil lamp
and grief.
Land
of deep cisterns.
Land
of a death without eyes
and of arrows.
(Wind on the roads.
Breeze in the poplar groves.)
21
PUEBLO
Sobre el monte pelado,
un calvario.
Agua clara
y olivos centenarios.
Por las callejas
hombres embozados,
y en las torres
veletas girando.
Eternamente
girando.
jOh pueblo perdido
en la Andaluda del llanto!
22
VI LLAGE
Upon a barren mount,
a calvary.
Clear water
and century-old olive trees.
In the narrow streets,
men hidden under cloaks;
and on the towers,
weather vanes spinning round.
Eternally
spinning.
Oh, lost village,
in the Andalusia of tears!
23
PUNAL
El punal
entra en el corazon
como la reja del arado
en el yermo.
No.
No me lo claves.
No.
El punal,
como un rayo de sol,
incendia las terribles
hondonadas.
No.
No me lo claves.
No.
24
DAGGER
The dagger
enters into the heart
like the ploughshare
into the barren waste.
No.
Dont plunge it into me.
No.
The dagger,
like the sunbeam,
sets ablaze the terrible
hollows.
No.
Dont plunge it into me.
No.
25
ENCRUCI J ADA
Viento del Este,
un farol
y el punal
en el corazon.
La calle
tiene un temblor
de cuerda
en tension,
un temblor
de enorme moscardon.
Por todas partes
yo
veo el punal
en el corazon.
26
CROSSROADS
East wind,
a streetlamp
and the dagger
in the heart.
The street
has the quiver
of a string
pulled tight,
the quiver
of a huge horsefly.
Everywhere
I
see the dagger
in the heart.
27
El grito deja en el viento
una sombra de cipres.
(Dejadme en este campo
llorando.)
Todo se ha roto en el mundo.
No queda mas que el silencio.
(Dejadme en este campo
llorando.)
El horizonte sin luz
esta mordido de hogueras.
(Ya os he dicho que me dejeis
en este campo
llorando.)
jAY!
28
AY!
The cry leaves a shadow
of cypress upon the wind.
(Leave me here in this field,
weeping.)
Everything in the world is broken.
Nothing but silence remains.
(Leave me here in this field,
weeping.)
The moonless horizon
is chewed up by bonfires.
(Ive told you already to leave me
here in this field,
weeping.)
29
SORPRESA
Muerto se quedo en la calle
con un punal en el pecho.
No lo conocia nadie.
jComo temblaba el farol!
Madre.
jComo temblaba el farolito
de la calle!
Era madrugada. Nadie
pudo asomarse a sus ojos
abiertos al duro aire.
Que muerto se quedo en la calle
que con un punal en el pecho
y que no lo conocia nadie.
30
SURPRI SE
Dead he was left in the street,
with a dagger in his chest.
Nobody knew who he was.
How the lamppost was shaking!
Mother.
How that little lamppost shook
in the street!
In the dead of night. Nobody
was able to glance wide-eyed
out into the harsh night air.
And he was left dead in the street,
and with a dagger in his chest,
and nobody knew who he was.
31
LA SOLEA
Vestida con mantos negros
piensa que el mundo es chiquito
y el corazon es inmenso.
Vestida con mantos negros.
Piensa que el suspiro tierno
y el grito, desaparecen
en la corriente del viento.
Vestida con mantos negros.
Se dejo el balcon abierto
y al alba por el balcon
desemboco todo el cielo.
jAy yayayayay,
que vestida con mantos negros!
32
THE SOLEA
Dressed in black mantles,
she thinks the world is tiny
and the heart immense.
Dressed in black mantles.
She thinks the loving sigh
and the cry disappear
on the currents of the wind.
Dressed in black mantles.
The balcony was left open
and at dawn the whole sky
emptied onto the balcony.
Ay yayayayay
dressed in black mantles!
33
CUEVA
De la cueva salen
largos sollozos.
(Lo cardeno
sobre lo rojo.)
El gitano evoca
paises remotos.
(Torres altas y hombres
misteriosos.)
En la voz entrecortada
van sus ojos.
(Lo negro
sobre lo rojo.)
Y la cueva encalada
tiembla en el oro.
(Lo bianco
sobre lo rojo.)
34
CAVE
From the cave come
long sobs.
(The purple
over the red.)
The Gypsy evokes
remote lands.
(High towers and men
of mystery.)
Over the cracking voice
his eyes travel.
(The black
over the red.)
And the whitewashed cave
trembles in gold.
(The white
over the red.)
35
ENCUENTRO
Ni tu ni yo estamos
en disposicion
de encontrarnos.
Tu. . . por lo que ya sabes.
jYo la he querido tanto!
Sigue esa veredita.
En las manos
tengo los agujeros
de los clavos.
<?No ves como me estoy
desangrando?
No mires nunca atras,
vete despacio
y reza como yo
a San Cayetano,
que ni tu ni yo estamos
en disposicion
de encontrarnos.
36
ENCOUNTER
Neither you nor I are
ready
to find one another.
You. . . for reasons you know.
I loved her so much!
Follow that narrow path.
In my hands
Ive got holes
from the nails.
Cant you see how
Im bleeding to death?
Never glance back,
continue on slowly
and pray the way I do,
to San Cayetano,
for neither you nor I are
ready
to find one another.
37
ALBA
Campanas de Cordoba
en la madrugada.
Campanas de amanecer
en Granada.
Os sienten todas las muchachas
que lloran a la tierna
solea enlutada.
Las muchachas
de Andalucia la alta
y la baja.
Las nirias de Esparia,
de pie menudo
y temblorosas faldas,
que han llenado de cruces
las encrucijadas.
jOh campanas de Cordoba
en la madrugada,
y oh campanas de amanecer
en Granada!
38
DAWN
Bells of Cordoba
before daybreak.
Bells of dawn
in Granada.
Youre heard by all the girls
who weep to the tender,
grieving soled.
The girls
of upper Andalusia
and of lower.
The young girls of Spain,
tiny of foot
and with trembling skirts,
whove filled the crossroads
with crosses.
Oh, bells of Cordoba
before daybreak,
and, oh, bells of dawn
in Granada!
39
93 POEMA DE LA SAETA
A Francisco Iglesias
ARQUEROS
Los arqueros oscuros
a Sevilla se acercan.
Guadalquivir abierto.
Anchos sombreros grises,
largas capas lentas.
jAy, Guadalquivir!
Vienen de los remotos
paises de la pena.
Guadalquivir abierto.
Y van a un laberinto.
Amor, cristal y piedra.
jAy, Guadalquivir!
40
SB POEM OF THE SAETA
To Francisco Iglesias
ARCHERS
The dark archers
approach Sevilla.
Open Guadalquivir.
Broad, grey hats;
long, sluggish capes.
Ay, Guadalquivir!
They come from remote
countries of sorrow.
Open Guadalquivir.
And theyre entering a labyrinth.
Love, crystal and stone.
Ay, Guadalquivir!
41
NOCHE
Cirio, candil,
farol y luciernaga.
La constelacion
de la saeta.
Ventanitas de oro
tiemblan,
y en la aurora se mecen
cruces superpuestas.
Cirio, candil,
farol y luciernaga.
42
NI GHT
Candle, oil lamp,
lamppost and firefly.
The constellation
of the saeta.
Little golden windows
tremble,
and at dawn superimposed
crosses sway about.
Candle, oil lamp,
lamppost and firefly.
43
SEVILLA
Sevilla es una torre
llena de arqueros finos.
Sevilla para herir.
Cordoba para morir.
Una ciudad que acecha
largos ritmos,
y los enrosca
como laberintos.
Como tallos de parra
encendidos.
jSevilla para herir!
Bajo el arco del cielo,
sobre su llano limpio,
dispara la constante
saeta de su rio.
jCordoba para morir!
Y loca de horizonte,
mezcla en su vino
lo amargo de Don Juan
y lo perfecto de Dionisio.
Sevilla para herir.
iSiempre Sevilla para herir!
44
SEVILLA
Sevilla is a tower
full of fine archers.
Sevilla to wound.
Cordoba to die.
A city lying in ambush
for long rhythms,
and it coils them up
like labyrinths.
Like flaming
grapevine stems.
Sevilla to wound!
Beneath the skys arch,
above its clean plain,
it shoots the constant
arrow of its river.
Cordoba to die!
And crazed by the horizon,
it mixes in its own wine
the bitterness of Don Juan
and the perfection of Dionysius.
Sevilla to wound.
Forever Sevilla to wound!
45
PROCESI 0N
Por la calleja vienen
extrarios unicornios.
<;De que campo,
de que bosque mitologico?
Mas cerca,
ya parecen astronomos.
Fantasticos Merlines
y el Ecce Homo,
Durandarte encantado,
Orlando furioso.
46
PROCESSION
Down the narrow street
come strange unicorns.
From what field,
from what mythical forest?
Closer still,
now they appear to be astronomers.
Fantastic Merlins
and the Ecce Homo,
an enchanted Durandarte,
a furious Orlando.
47
PASO
Virgen con mirinaque,
virgen de la Soledad,
abierta como un inmenso
tulipan.
En un barco de luces
vas
por la alta marea
de la ciudad,
entre saetas turbias
y estrellas de cristal.
Virgen con mirinaque,
tu vas
por el rio de la calle,
jhasta el mar!
48
STAGE
Virgin in crinoline,
virgin of Solitude,
opened up like an immense
tulip.
In a boat of light,
you travel
upon the high tide
of the city,
among turbid saetas
and stars of crystal.
Virgin in crinoline,
you travel
on that river of a street
down to the sea!
49
SAETA
Cristo moreno
pasa
de lirio de Judea
a clavel de Esparia.
jMiradlo por donde viene!
De Espana.
Cielo limpio y oscuro,
tierra tostada,
y cauces donde corre
muy lenta el agua.
Cristo moreno,
con las guedejas quemadas,
los pomulos salientes
y las pupilas blancas.
jMiradlo por donde va!
50
SAETA
A dark Christ
changes
from a lily of J udea
to a carnation of Spain.
Look where he comes from!
From Spain.
A dark and clear sky,
a toasted earth,
and riverbeds where water
runs ever so slowly.
A dark Christ,
with long, burnt locks;
his cheekbones, prominent
and his pupils, white.
Look where hes going!
51
BALCON
La Lola
canta saetas.
Los toreritos
la rodean,
y el barberillo,
desde su puerta,
sigue los ritmos
con la cabeza.
Entre la albahaca
y la hierbabuena,
la Lola canta
saetas.
La Lola aquella,
que se miraba
tanto en la alberca.
52
BALCONY
Lola
is singing saetas.
The little bullfighters
circle around her;
and the little barber,
from his doorway,
follows the rhythm
with his head.
Among sweet basil
and mint,
Lola is singing
saetas.
That Lola,
who would look at herself
so much in the pool.
53
MADRUGADA
Pero como el amor
los saeteros
estan ciegos.
Sobre la noche verde,
las saetas
dejan rastros de lirio
caliente.
La quilla de la luna
rompe nubes moradas
y las aljabas
se llenan de rocio.
jAy, pero como el amor
los saeteros
estan ciegos!
54
BEFORE THE DAWN
But like love
the archers
are blind
Upon the green night,
the piercing saetas
leave traces of warm
lily.
The keel of the moon
breaks through purple clouds
and their quivers
fill with dew.
Ay, but like love
the archers
are blind!
55
gg GRAFI CO DE LA PETENERA
A Eugenio Montes
CAMPANA
BORD0N
En la torre
amarilla,
dobla una campana.
Sobre el viento
amarillo,
se abren las campanadas.
En la torre
amarilla,
cesa la campana.
El viento con el polvo
hace proras de plata.
56
93 SKETCH OF THE PETENERA
To Eugenio Montes
BELL
BASS STRING
In the yellow
tower,
a bell tolls.
Upon the yellow
wind,
ringing breaks out.
In the yellow
tower,
the bell stops.
The wind, with the dust,
creates prows of silver.
57
CAMI NO
Cien jinetes enlutados,
^donde iran,
por el cielo yacente
del naranjal?
Ni a Cordoba ni a Sevilla
llegaran.
Ni a Granada la que suspira
por el mar.
Esos caballos sonolientos
los llevaran,
al laberinto de las cruces
donde tiembla el cantar.
Con siete ayes clavados,
^donde iran
los cien jinetes andaluces
del naranjal?
58
ROAD
A hundred riders in funeral dress,
where will they go
in that laid-to-rest sky
of the orange grove?
Neither Cordoba nor Sevilla
will they ever reach.
Nor that Granada which sighs
for the sea.
Those drowsy horses
will carry them:
to that labyrinth of crosses
where the song shudders so.
With seven ays piercing them,
where will they go,
those hundred Andalusian riders
of the orange grove?
59
LAS SEI S CUERDAS
La guitarra
hace llorar a los suerios.
El sollozo de las almas
perdidas
se escapa por su boca
redonda.
Y como la tarantula
teje una gran estrella
para cazar suspiros,
que flotan en su negro
aljibe de madera.
60
THE SIX STRINGS
The guitar
makes dreams weep.
The sobbing of lost
souls
escapes through its round
mouth.
And like the tarantula
it spins a large star
to trap the sighs
floating in its black,
wooden water tank.
61
DANZA
En la noche del huerto,
seis gitanas
vestidas de bianco
bailan.
En la noche del huerto,
coronadas
con rosas de papel
y biznagas.
En la noche del huerto,
sus dientes de nacar
escriben la sombra
quemada.
Y en la noche de huerto,
sus sombras se alargan,
y llegan hasta el cielo
moradas.
EN EL HUERTO DE LA PETENERA
62
DANCE
IN THE GARDEN OF THE PETENERA
In the gardens night,
six Gypsy girls,
dressed in white,
are dancing.
In the gardens night,
crowned
with paper roses
and bishops weed.
In the gardens night,
their mother-of-pearl teeth
score the charred
shadow.
In the gardens night,
their shadows lengthen
and reach up to the sky
with a purplish color.
63
MUERTE DE LA PETENERA
En la casa blanca muere
la perdicion de los hombres.
Cien jacas caracolean.
Sus jinetes estan muertos.
Bajo las estremecidas
estrellas de los velones,
su falda de moare tiembla
entre sus muslos de cobre.
Cien jacas caracolean.
Sus jinetes estan muertos.
Largas sombras afiladas
vienen del turbio horizonte,
y el bordon de una guitarra
se rompe.
Cien jacas caracolean.
Sus jinetes estan muertos.
64
DEATH OF THE PETENERA
In this white house,
mans perdition dies.
A hundred ponies are prancing.
Their riders are all dead.
Beneath the quivering
stars of the oil lamps,
her skirt of moire trembles
between her copper thighs.
A hundred ponies are prancing.
Their riders are all dead.
Long, sharpened shadows
come from the cloudy horizon,
and the bass string of a guitar
breaks.
A hundred ponies are prancing.
Their riders are all dead.
65
FALSETA
jAy, petenera gitana!
iYayay petenera!
Tu entierro no tuvo nirias
buenas.
Ninas que le dan a Cristo muerto
sus guedejas,
y llevan blancas mantillas
en las ferias.
Tu entierro fue de gente
siniestra.
Gente con el corazon
en la cabeza,
que te siguio llorando
por las callejas.
jAy, petenera gitana!
jYayay petenera!
66
GUITAR FLOURISH
Ay, Gypsy petenera!
Yayay, petenera!
There werent any good little girls
at your burial.
Little girls who offer a dead Christ
their locks,
and who wear white mantillas
on market days.
Your burial was one of sinister
people.
People with their hearts
in their heads;
who followed after you, weeping
through the narrow streets.
Ay, Gypsy petenera!
Yayay, petenera!
67
DE PROFUNDIS
Los cien enamorados
duermen para siempre
bajo la tierra seca.
Andalucia tiene
largos caminos rojos.
Cordoba, olivos verdes
donde poner cien cruces,
que los recuerden.
Los cien enamorados
duermen para siempre.
68
DE PROFUNDIS
Those hundred lovers
are asleep forever
beneath the dry earth.
Andalusia has
long, red-colored roads.
Cordoba, green olive trees
for placing a hundred crosses
to remember them.
Those hundred lovers
are asleep forever.
69
CLAMOR
En las torres
amarillas,
doblan las campanas.
Sobre los vientos
amarillos,
se abren las campanadas.
Por un camino va
la Muerte, coronada
de azahares marchitos.
Canta y canta
una cancion
en su vihuela blanca,
y canta y canta y canta.
En las torres amarillas,
cesan las campanas.
El viento con el polvo
hacen proras de plata.
70
DEATH KNELL
In the yellow
towers,
the bells toll.
Upon the yellow
winds,
ringing breaks out.
Down a road travels
Death, crowned with
withered orange blossoms.
Death sings and sings
a song
with her ancient white guitar,
and sings and sings and sings.
In the yellow towers,
the bells stop.
The wind and the dust
create prows of silver.
71
93 DOS MUCHACHAS
A Maximo Quijano
LA LOLA
Bajo el naranjo lava
panales de algodon.
Tiene verdes los ojos
y violeta la voz.
;Ay, amor,
bajo el naranjo en flor!
El agua de la acequia
iba llena de sol,
en el olivarito
cantaba un gorrion.
jAy, amor,
bajo el naranjo en flor!
Luego, cuando la Lola
gaste todo el jabon,
vendran los torerillos.
jAy, amor,
bajo el naranjo en flor!
72
m TWO YOUNG GIRLS
To Maximo Quijano
LOLA
Under the orange tree, she
washes cotton diapers.
Her eyes are green
and violet, her voice.
Ay, love,
under the orange tree in flower!
The water of the irrigation canal
was moving along filled with sun;
in the little olive grove,
a sparrow was singing.
Ay, love,
under the orange tree in flower!
Later, when Lola
uses up all her soap,
the little bullfighters arrive.
Ay, love,
under the orange tree in flower!
73
AMPARO
Amparo,
,que sola estas en tu casa
vestida de bianco!
(Ecuador entre el jazmin
y el nardo.)
Oyes los maravillosos
surtidores de tu patio,
y el debil trino amarillo
del canario.
Por la tarde ves temblar
los cipreses con los pajaros,
mientras bordas lentamente
letras sobre el canamazo.
Amparo,
jque sola estas en tu casa
vestida de bianco!
Amparo,
\y que dificil decirte:
yo te amo!
74
AMPARO
Amparo,
how lonely you are at home,
dressed in white!
(Dividing line between jasmine
and spikenard.)
You hear the wonderful
fountains of your courtyard
and the weak, yellow trilling
of the canary.
In the evening, you see
the cypresses shake with birds
while you slowly embroider
letters into the canvas.
Amparo,
how lonely you are at home,
dressed in white!
Amparo,
and how difficult to tell you:
I love you!
75
99 VINETAS FLAMENCAS
A Manuel Torres, Nino de Jerez,
que tiene tronco de Faradn.
RETRATO DE SI LVERI O FRANCONETTI
Entre italiano
y flamenco,
icomo cantaria
aquel Silverio?
La densa miel de Italia,
con el limon nuestro,
iba en el hondo llanto
del siguiriyero.
Su grito fue terrible.
Los viej os
dicen que se erizaban
los cabellos,
y se abria el azogue
de los espejos.
Pasaba por los tonos
sin romperlos.
Y fue un creador
y un jardinero.
Un creador de glorietas
para el silencio.
Ahora su melodia
duerme con los ecos.
Definitiva y pura.
jCon los ultimos ecos!
76
93 FLAMENCO VIGNETTES
To Manuel Torres, Nino de Jerez,
who has the body of a Pharaoh.
PORTRAI T OF SI LVERI O FRANCONETTI
Between Italian
and flamenco,
how would he sing,
that Silverio?
The thick honey of Italy,
mixed with our lemon,
traveled upon the deep wail
of this singer of siguiriyas.
His cry was terrible.
Old timers say
that ones hair
would stand on end,
and make the quicksilver
split in the mirrors.
He would go up the scales
without his voice cracking.
And he was a creator
and a gardener.
A creator of arbors
for the silence.
Now his melody
sleeps with the echoes.
Final and pure.
With the ultimate echoes!
77
JUAN BREVA
Juan Breva tenia
cuerpo de gigante
y voz de niria.
Nada como su trino.
Era la misma
Pena cantando
detras de una sonrisa.
Evoca los limonares
de Malaga la dormida,
y hay en su llanto dejos
de sal marina.
Como Homero canto
ciego. Su voz tenia
algo de mar sin luz
y naranja exprimida.
78
JUAN BREVA
Juan Breva possessed
the body of a giant
and the voice of a little girl.
His trill was like nothing else.
It was that same Pain
being sung
behind a smile.
It evokes the lemon groves
of a sleepy Malaga,
and in his wail there are
aftertastes of sea salt.
Like Homer he sang
blindly. His voice possessed
a touch of sea without light
and squeezed-dry orange.
79
CAFE CANTANTE
Lamparas de cristal
y espejos verdes.
Sobre el tablado oscuro,
la Parrala sostiene
una conversacion
con la Muerte.
La llama,
no viene,
y la vuelve a llamar.
Las gentes
aspiran los sollozos.
Y en los espejos verdes,
largas colas de seda
se mueven.
80
FLAMENCO CABARET
Lamps of crystal
and green mirrors.
On the darkened stage,
Parrala maintains
a conversation
with Death.
She calls Death,
but Death never comes,
and she calls out again.
The people are
inhaling her sobs.
And in the green mirrors,
her long, silk train
sways back and forth.
81
LAMENTACI ON DE LA MUERTE
A Miguel Benitez
Sobre el cielo negro,
culebrinas amarillas.
Vine a este mundo con ojos
y me voy sin ellos.
iSerior del mayor dolor!
Y luego,
un velon y una manta
en el suelo.
Quise llegar adonde
llegaron los buenos.
jY he llegado, Dios mio!. . .
Pero luego,
un velon y una manta
en el suelo.
Limoncito amarillo,
limonero.
Echad los limoncitos
al viento.
jYa lo sabeis!. . . Porque luego,
luego,
un velon y una manta
en el suelo.
Sobre el cielo negro,
culebrinas amarillas.
82
LAMENTATI ON OF DEATH
To Miguel Benitez
Across the black heavens,
yellow; serpentine flashes.
I came into this world with eyes
and Ill leave without them.
Oh, Lord of the greatest sorrow!
And then,
an oil lamp and a blanket
upon the ground.
I tried to go where
the good people go.
And I did, dear God. . .!
But then,
an oil lamp and a blanket
upon the ground.
Little yellow lemons,
lemon tree.
Cast your little lemons
to the wind.
Now you know. . .! For then,
then,
an oil lamp and a blanket
upon the ground.
Across the black heavens,
yellowi serpentine flashes.
83
CONJURO
La mano crispada
como una Medusa
ciega el ojo doliente
del candil.
As de bastos.
Tijeras en cruz.
Sobre el humo bianco
del incienso, tiene
algo de topo y
mariposa indecisa.
As de bastos.
Tijeras en cruz.
Aprieta un corazon
invisible, <-laveis?
Un corazon
reflejado en el viento.
As de bastos.
Tijeras en cruz.
84
I NCANTATI ON
The twitching hand,
like some Medusa,
blinds the aching eye
of the oil lamp.
Ace of Wands.
Scissors in a cross.
Upon the white smoke
of the incense, it has
a touch of the mole and
the indecisive butterfly.
Ace of Wands.
Scissors in a cross.
An invisible heart
is distressed, see it?
A heart
reflected on the wind.
Ace of Wands.
Scissors in a cross.
85
MEMENTO
Cuando yo me muera,
enterradme con mi guitarra
bajo la arena.
Cuando yo me muera,
entre los naranjos
y la hierbabuena.
Cuando yo me muera,
enterradme si quereis
en una veleta.
jCuando yo me muera!
86
MEMENTO
When I die,
bury me with my guitar
beneath the sand.
When I die,
among orange trees
and mint plants.
When I die,
bury me, if you would,
inside a weather vane.
When I die!
87
MALAGUENA
La muerte
entra y sale
de la taberna.
Pasan caballos negros
y gente siniestra
por los hondos caminos
de la guitarra.
Y hay un olor a sal
y a sangre de hembra
en los nardos febriles
de la marina.
La muerte
entra y sale,
y sale y entra
la muerte
de la taberna.
5S TRES CIUDADES
A Pilar Zubiaurre
88
MALAGUENA
Death
goes in and out
of the tavern.
Black horses
and sinister people
travel the deep roads
of the guitar.
And theres a smell of salt
and of female blood
in the feverish nards
along the seacoast.
Death
goes in and out;
and out and into
the tavern
goes death.
93 THREE CITIES
To Pilar Zubiaurre
89
BARRIO DE CORDOBA
TOPI CO NOCTURNO
En la casa se defienden
de las estrellas.
La noche se derrumba.
Dentro, hay una nina muerta
con una rosa encarnada
oculta en la cabellera.
Seis ruisenores la lloran
en la reja.
Las gentes van suspirando
con las guitarras abiertas.
90
NEIGHBORHOOD IN CORDOBA
NOCTURNAL THEME
In the house, they defend
against the stars.
The night tumbles down.
I nside is a dead little girl
with a flesh-colored rose
hidden in her hair.
Six nightingales sing to her
from the bars of the window.
The folks are sighing
with their guitars open.
91
BAI LE
La Carmen esta bailando
por las calles de Sevilla.
Tiene blancos los cabellos
y brillantes las pupilas.
jNirias,
corred las cortinas!
En su cabeza se enrosca
una serpiente amarilla,
y va sonando en el baile
con galanes de otros dias.
j Ninas,
corred las cortinas!
Las calles estan desiertas
y en los fondos se adivinan
corazones andaluces
buscando viejas espinas.
jNinas,
corred las cortinas!
92
DANCE
Carmen is dancing through
the streets of Sevilla.
Her tresses are white
and her pupils, gleaming.
Girls,
shut the curtains!
In her head, a yellow
serpent is coiling up,
and she dreams about dancing
with suitors from days gone by.
Girls,
shut the curtains!
The streets are deserted,
and Andalusian hearts
in search of ancient thorns
are detected in the background.
Girls,
shut the curtains!
93
93 SEIS CAPRICHOS
A Regino Sam? de la Maza
ADI VI NANZA DE LA GUI TARRA
En la redonda
encrucijada,
seis doncellas
bailan.
Tres de carne
y tres de plata.
Los suerios de ayer las buscan,
pero las tiene abrazadas
un Polifemo de oro.
jLa guitarra!
94
SB SIX CAPRICES
To Regino Sainz de la Maza
RI DDLE OF THE GUI TAR
In the round
crossroads,
six maidens
are dancing.
Three of flesh
and three of silver.
Yesterdays dreams search for them,
but a golden Polyphemus
is embracing them.
The guitar!
95
CANDI L
jOh, que grave medita
la llama del candil!
Como un faquir indio
mira su entrana de oro
y se eclipsa sonando
atmosferas sin viento.
Cigiiena incandescente
pica desde su nido
a las sombras macizas,
y se asoma temblando
a los ojos redondos
del gitanillo muerto.
96
OI L LAMP
Oh, how gravely the flame
of the oil lamp meditates!
Like an I ndian fakir
it stares at its golden navel
and then is eclipsed, dreaming
of windless atmospheres.
An incandescent stork
pecks at the plump shadows
from inside its nest
and, trembling, peeks
into the round eyes
of a dead little Gypsy.
97
CR0TALO
Crotalo.
Crotalo.
Crotalo.
Escarabajo sonoro.
En la araria
de la mano
rizas el aire
calido,
y te ahogas en tu trino
de palo.
Crotalo.
Crotalo.
Crotalo.
Escarabajo sonoro.
98
CASTANET
Rattler.
Rattler.
Rattler.
Sonorous beetle.
In the spider
of the hand,
you ripple the warm
air
and drown in your trill
of wood.
Rattler.
Rattler.
Rattler.
Sonorous beetle.
99
CHUMBERA
Laoconte salvaje.
iQue bien estas
bajo la media luna!
Multiple pelotari.
iQue bien estas
amenazando al viento!
Dafne y Atis,
saben de tu dolor.
I nexplicable.
100
PRI CKLY PEAR
Wild laocoon.
How comfortable you are
beneath the half-moon!
Multiple pelota player.
How comfortable you are,
threatening the wind!
Daphne and Attis
know of your pain.
I nexplicable.
101
PITA
Pulpo petrificado.
Pones cinchas cenicientas
al vientre de los montes,
y muelas formidables
a los desfiladeros.
Pulpo petrificado.
102
MAGUEY PLANT
Petrified octopus.
You put ashen cinches on
the bellies of mountains
and formidable molars
into their high passes.
Petrified octopus.
103
CRUZ
La cruz.
(Punto final
del camino.)
Se mira en la acequia.
(Puntos suspensivos.)
104
CROSS
The cross.
(The full stop
of ones road.)
It looks at itself in the canal.
(Suspension points.)
105
ESCENA DEL TENIENTE CORONEL
DE LA GUARDIA CIVIL
CUARTO DE BANDERAS
TENIENTE CORONEL: Yo soy el teniente coronel de la Guardia
Civil.
SARGENTO: Si.
TENIENTE CORONEL: Y no hay quien me desmienta.
SARGENTO: No.
TENIENTE CORONEL: Tengo tres estrellas y veinte cruces.
SARGENTO: Si.
TENIENTE CORONEL: Me ha saludado el cardenal arzobispo de
Toledo con sus veinticuatro borlas moradas.
SARGENTO: Si.
TENIENTE CORONEL: Yo soy el teniente. Yo soy el teniente. Yo
soy el teniente coronel de la Guardia Civil.
(Romeo y Julieta, celeste, bianco y oro, se abrazan
sobre el jardin de tabaco de la caja de puros.
El militar acaricia el canon de un fusil lleno de
sombra submarina.)
UNA VOZ (Fuera): Luna, luna, luna, luna,
del tiempo de la aceituna.
Cazorla ensena su torre
y Benameji la oculta.
106
SCENE OF THE LIEUTENANT COLONEL
OF THE CIVIL GUARD
GUARDROOM
LT. COLONEL: Im the Lieutenant Colonel of the Civil Guard.
SERGEANT: Yes, sir.
LT. COLONEL: And theres nobody wholl contradict me.
SERGEANT: No, sir.
LT. COLONEL: Ive got three stars and twenty crosses.
SERGEANT: Yes, sir.
LT. COLONEL: The Cardinal Archbishop of Toledo greeted me in
his twenty-four purple tassels.
SERGEANT: Yes, sir.
LT. COLONEL: Im the Lieutenant. Im the Lieutenant. Im
the Lieutenant Colonel of the Civil Guard.
(Romeo and Juliet in the sky blue, white and gold embrace
upon the tobacco garden of the cigar box. The military
man caresses the barrel of a gun filled with submarine
shadows.)
A VOICE: (off stage): The moon, moon, moon, moon,
of the olives harvest moon.
Cazorla, her tower she reveals,
which Benameji then conceals.
107
Luna, luna, luna, luna.
Un gallo canta en la luna.
Serior alcalde, sus nifias
estan mirando a la luna.
TENIENTE CORONEL: i Que pasa?
SARGENTO: jUn gitano!
(La mirada de mulo joven del gitanillo ensombrece
y agiganta los ojirris del Teniente Coronel de la
Guardia Civil.)
TENIENTE CORONEL: Yo soy el teniente coronel de la
Guardia Civil.
GITANO: Si.
TENIENTE CORONEL: ^Tu quien eres?
GITANO: Un gitano.
TENIENTE CORONEL: ^Y que es un gitano?
GITANO: Cualquier cosa.
TENIENTE CORONEL: ^Como te llamas?
GITANO: Eso.
TENIENTE CORONEL: ^Que dices?
GITANO: Gitano.
108
The moon, moon, moon, moon.
A rooster sings in the moon.
Mr. Mayor, your little girls
are looking up at the moon.
LT. COLONEL: Whats going on?
SERGEANT: A Gypsy!
(The mulish gaze of the young little Gypsy makes the
beady little eyes of the Lt. Colonel of the Civil Guard
widen and darken.)
LT. COLONEL: Im the Lieutenant Colonel of the Civil Guard.
GYPSY: Yes, sir.
LT. COLONEL: And you, who are you?
GYPSY: A Gypsy.
LT. COLONEL: And whats a Gypsy?
GYPSY: Anything at all.
LT. COLONEL: What do they call you?
GYPSY: Just that.
LT. COLONEL: What are you saying?
GYPSY: Gypsy.
109
SARGENTO: Me lo encontre y lo he traido.
TENIENTE CORONEL: ^Donde estabas?
GITANO: En el puente de los rios
TENIENTE CORONEL: Pero ^de que rios?
GITANO: De todos los rios.
TENIENTE CORONEL: que harias alii?
GITANO: Una torre de canela.
TENIENTE CORONEL: jSargento!
SARGENTO: A la orden, mi teniente coronel de la Guardia Civil.
GITANO: He inventado unas alas para volar, y vuelo. Azufre y
rosa en mis labios.
TENIENTE CORONEL: jAy!
GITANO: Aunque no necesito alas, porque vuelo sin ellas.
Nubes y anillos en mi sangre.
TENIENTE CORONEL: jAyy!
GITANO: En enero tengo azahar.
TENIENTE CORONEL (Retorciendose): jAyyyyy!
GITANO: Y naranjas en la nieve.
110
SERGEANT: I found him and brought him here.
LT. COLONEL: Where were you?
GYPSY: On the bridge over the rivers.
LT. COLONEL: But, over what rivers?
GYPSY: Over all the rivers.
LT. COLONEL: What were you doing there?
GYPSY: Building a tower of cinnamon.
LT. COLONEL: Sergeant!
SERGEANT: At your command, Lieutenant Colonel of the Civil
Guard, sir.
GYPSY: Ive invented some wings for flying, and I fly all
over. Sulphur and rose upon my lips.
LT. COLONEL: Ay!
GYPSY: Though I dont need wings, because I can fly without
them. Clouds and rings are in my blood.
LT. COLONEL: Ayy!
GYPSY: In January, Ive got orange blossoms.
LT. COLONEL (backing away): Ayyyyy!
GYPSY: And oranges in the falling snow.
I l l
TENIENTE CORONEL: jAyyyyy! (Pun, pin, pam. Cae muerto.J
(El alma de tabaco y cafe con leche del Teniente
Coronel de la Guardia Civil sale por la ventana.)
SARGENTO: jSocorro!
(En el patio del cuartel, cuarto guardias civiles
apalean al gitanillo.)
112
LT. COLONEL: Ayyyyy! (Bang, bam, boom. Falls over dead.)
(The Lieutenant Colonel of the Civil Guard's soul of
tobacco and cafe au lait sails out the window.)
SERGEANT: Help!
(In the barracks yard, four civil guards are beating up
on the little Gypsy.)
113
c a n c i On d e l g i t a n o a p a l e a d o
Veinticuatro bofetadas.
Veinticinco bofetadas;
despues, mi madre, a la noche,
me pondra en papel de plata.
Guardia civil caminera,
dadme unos sorbitos de agua.
Agua con peces y barcos.
Agua, agua, agua, agua.
jAy, mandor de los civiles
que estas arriba en tu sala!
jNo habra panuelos de seda
para limpiarme la cara!
5 de julio, 1925
114
SONG OF THE BEATEN GYPSY
Twenty-four hard blows,
twenty-five hard blows;
later, when its dark, my mother
will place me on paper of silver.
Civil Guard of the roads,
give me a few sips of water.
Water with fish and boats.
Water, water, water, water.
Ay, listen Civil Guard Commander,
up there above in your chamber.
Therell never be any scarf of lace
for me to clean my bloodied face.
July 5, 1925
115
DIALOGO d el a ma r g o
CAMPO
UNA VOZ: Amargo.
Las adelfas de mi patio.
Corazon de almendra amarga.
Amargo.
(Llegan tres jovenes con anchos sombreros.)
JOVEN 1.: Vamos a llegar tarde.
JOVEN 2.: La noche se nos echa encima.
JOVEN 1.: ese?
JOVEN 2.: Viene detras.
JOVEN l .(En alta voz)- \Amargo!
AMARGO (Lejos): Ya voy.
JOVEN 2.(A voces): jAmargo!
AMARGO (Con calma): jYa voy!
(Pausa.)
JOVEN 1: iQue hermosos olivares!
JOVEN 2: Si.
(Largo silencio.)
DIALOGUE OF AMARGO, THE BITTER ONE
COUNTRY SI DE
A VOICE: Amargo, bitter one.
The oleander of my courtyard.
A heart of bitter almonds.
Amargo, bitter one.
(Three young men with wide-brimmed hats arrive.)
1st YOUTH: We re going to get there late.
2nd YOUTH: Night is falling all around us.
1st YOUTH: And him?
2nd YOUTH: Hes coming along in back of us.
1st YOUTH (in a loud voice): Amargo!
AMARGO (far off): Im coming.
2nd YOUTH (shouting): Amargo!
AMARGO (calmly): Im coming!
(Pause.)
1st YOUTH: What beautiful olive groves!
2nd YOUTH: Yes.
(A long silence.)
117
JOVEN 1: No me gusta andar de noche.
JOVEN 2: Ni a mi tampoco.
JOVEN 1: La noche se hizo para dormir.
JOVEN 2: Es verdad.
(Ranas y grillos hacen la glorieta del estio andaluz.
El Amargo camina con las manos en la cintura.)
AMARGO: Ay y ay ay ay.
Yo le pregunte a la Muerte.
Ay yayayay.
(El grito de su canto pone un acento circunflejo
sobre el corazon de los que le ban oi'do.J
JOVEN 1 (Desde muy lejos): jAmargo!
JOVEN 2 (Casi perdido): jAmargooo!
(Silencio.)
(El Amargo esta solo en medio de la carretera.
Entorna sus grandes ojos verdes y se cine la
chaqueta de pana alrededor del talle. Altas
montafias le rodean. Su gran reloj de plata le
suena oscuramente en el bolsillo a cada paso.)
(Un Jinete viene galopando por la carretera.)
JINETE: (Parando el caballo) jBuenas noches!
118
1st YOUTH: I dont like traveling at night.
2nd YOUTH: Neither do I.
1st YOUTH: Night was only made for sleeping.
2nd YOUTH: Thats true.
(Frogs and crickets make up this arbor of the Andalusian
summertime. Amargo walks with his hands on his hips.)
AMARGO: Ay yayayay.
I asked Death a question.
Ay yayayay.
(The cry of his song puts a circumflex over the hearts
of the two who have heard him.)
1st YOUTH (from very far off): Amargo!
2nd YOUTH (almost lost): Amargooo!
(Silence.)
(Amargo is alone in the middle of the road. He half
closes his large green eyes, and pulls his corduroy jacket
tight around his waist. High mountains surround him. His
large silver watch ticks darkly with his every step.)
(A rider comes galloping down the road.)
RIDER (stopping the horse): Good Evening!
119
JINETE: ^Va usted a Granada?
AMARGO: A Granada voy.
JINETE: Pues vamos juntos.
AMARGO: Eso parece.
JINETE: ^Por que no monta en la grupa?
AMARGO: Porque no me duelen los pies.
JINETE: Yo vengo de Malaga.
AMARGO: Bueno.
JINETE: AIK estan mis hermanos.
AMARGO (Displicente): ^Cuantos?
JINETE: Son tres. Venden cuchillos. Ese es el negocio.
AMARGO: De salud les sirva.
JINETE: De plata y de oro.
AMARGO: Un cuchillo no tiene que ser mas que cuchillo.
JINETE: Se equivoca.
AMARGO: Gracias.
AMARGO: A la paz de Dios.
120
RIDER: Are you heading to Granada?
AMARGO: To Granada, Im heading.
RIDER: Well, well be going together.
AMARGO: So it seems.
RIDER: Why dont you climb up on back?
AMARGO: Because my feet arent sore.
RIDER: I m coming from Malaga.
AMARGO: Thats nice.
RIDER: My brothers are there.
AMARGO (indifferently): How many?
RIDER: There are three of them. They sell knives. Thats
their business.
AMARGO: May it bring them good health.
RIDER: Gold and silver ones.
AMARGO: A knife is a knife and nothing more than that.
RIDER: Youre mistaken.
AMARGO: Thanks for telling me.
AMARGO: With Gods peace.
121
JINETE: Los cuchillos de oro se van solos al corazon. Los de
plata cortan el cuello como una brizna de hierba.
AMARGO: <;No sirven para partir el pan?
JINETE: Los hombres parten el pan con las manos.
AMARGO: jEs verdad!
(El caballo se inquieta.)
JINETE: jCaballo!
AMARGO: Es la noche.
(El camino ondulante salomoniza la sombra del
animal.)
JINETE: ^Quieres un cuchillo?
AMARGO: No.
JINETE: Mira que te lo regalo.
AMARGO: Pero yo no lo acepto.
JINETE: No tendras otra ocasion.
AMARGO: <;Quien sabe?
JINETE: Los otros cuchillos no sirven. Los otros cuchillos son
blandos y se asustan de la sangre. Los que nosotros
vendemos son frios. ^Entiendes? Entran buscando el sitio
de mas calor y alii se paran.
122
RIDER: Gold knives go right into the heart by themselves.
Those of silver cut a throat as if it were a blade of grass.
AMARGO: Arent they good for cutting bread?
RIDER: Men break bread with their hands.
AMARGO: Thats true.
(The horse grows restless.)
RIDER: Horse!
AMARGO: Its just the night.
(The rolling road makes the animals shadow look as if
it were a solomonic column.)
RIDER: Would you like a knife?
AMARGO: No.
RIDER: Look, Ill give it to you.
AMARGO: But I wont take it.
RIDER: You wont have another chance.
AMARGO: Who knows?
RIDER: Other knives arent any good. Other knives are soft,
and theyre scared of blood. The ones we sell are cold.
Understand? They enter looking for the hottest place,
and there they stop.
123
(El Amargo se calla. Su mano derecha se le
enfria como si agarrase un pedazo de oro.)
JINETE: jQue hermoso cuchillo!
AMARGO: i Vale mucho?
JINETE: Pero <;no quieres este?
(Saca un cuchillo de oro. La punta brilla como
una llama de candil.)
AMARGO: He dicho que no.
JINETE: jMuchacho, subete conmigo!
AMARGO: Todavia no estoy cansado.
(El caballo se vuelve a espantar.)
JINETE: (Tirando de las bridas): Pero jque caballo este!
AMARGO: Es lo oscuro.
(Pausa.)
JINETE: Como te iba diciendo, en Malaga estan mis tres
hermanos. jQue manera de vender cuchillos! En la catedral
compraron dos mil para adornar todos los altares y poner una
corona a la torre. Muchos barcos escribieron en ellos sus
nombres; los Pescadores mas humildes de la orilla del mar se
alumbran de noche con el brillo que despiden sus hojas
afiladas.
124
(Amargo falls silent. His right hand turns cold, as if
he were clutching a piece of gold.)
RIDER: What a beautiful knife!
AMARGO: Is it worth a lot?
RIDER: But, wouldnt you like this one?
(He pulls out a gold knife. Its point shines like the
flame of an oil lamp.)
AMARGO: I said no.
RIDER: Climb up here with me, boy.
AMARGO: Im still not tired.
(The horse starts to bolt again.)
RIDER (pulling the reins): But, what a horse this is!
AMARGO: Its only the dark.
(Pause.)
RIDER: As I was telling you, in Malaga are my three brothers.
What a way they have of selling knives! At the cathedral
they bought two thousand, just so they could adorn all the
altars and place a crown upon the tower. Many ships crews
wrote their names into them; the most humble fishermen along
the seacoast light up the night with the sparkle given off by
their sharp blades.
125
JINETE: ^Quien lo puede negar?
(La noche se espesa como un vino de den afios.
La serpiente gorda del Sur abre sus ojos en la
madrugada, y hay en los durmientes un deseo
infinito de arrojarse por el balcon a la magia
perversa del perfume y la lejania.)
AMARGO: Me parece que hemos perdido el camino.
JINETE: (Parando el caballo): i Si l
AMARGO: Con la conversacion.
JINETE: ^No son aquellas las luces de Granada?
AMARGO: No se. El mundo es muy grande.
JINETE: Y muy solo.
AMARGO: Como que esta deshabitado.
JINETE: Tu lo estas diciendo.
AMARGO: jMe da una desesperanza! jAy yayayay!
JINETE: Porque si llegas alii, ^que haces?
AMARGO: ^Que hago?
JINETE: Y si te estas en tu sitio, ^para que quieres estar?
AMARGO: jEs una hermosura!
126
RIDER: Who could deny that?
(The night becomes as thick as hundred-year-old wine.
The fat serpent of the South opens its eyes to the
pre-dawn, and within the sleepers there is an infinite
desire to hurl themselves off the balcony into the
perverse magic of perfume and distances.)
AMARGO: It seems that weve lost our way.
RIDER (stopping the horse): Have we?
AMARGO: While we were talking.
RIDER: Arent those the lights of Granada?
AMARGO: I dont know. The worlds such a big place.
RIDER: And so very lonely.
AMARGO: Inasmuch as its uninhabited.
RIDER: Youve said it.
AMARGO: It makes me lose hope. Ay yayayay!
RIDER: Because if you get there, whatll you do?
AMARGO: Whatll I do?
RIDER: And if you were where you belong, why do you want to
get there?
AMARGO: What a beautiful thing!
127
JINETE: Yo monto este caballo y vendo cuchillos, pero si no
lo hiciera, ^que pasaria?
AMARGO: ^Que pasaria?
(Pausa.)
JINETE: Estamos llegando a Granada.
AMARGO: ^Es posible?
JINETE: Mira como relumbran los miradores.
AMARGO: Si, ciertamente.
JINETE: Ahora no te negaras a montar conmigo.
AMARGO: Espera un poco.
JINETE: jVamos, sube! Sube de prisa. Es necesario llegar antes
de que amanezca. . .Y toma este cuchillo. jTe lo regalo!
AMARGO: jAy yayayay!
(El Jinete ayuda al Amargo. Los dos emprenden
el camino de Granada. La sierra del fondo se
cubre de cicutas y de ortigas.)
AMARGO: ^Para que?
128
RIDER: I ride all around on this horse selling knives, but
if I didnt, what would happen?
AMARGO: What would happen?
(Pause.)
RIDER: Were getting close to Granada.
AMARGO: Is that possible?
RIDER: Look how the balcony windows are glittering.
AMARGO: Yes, thats true.
RIDER: Now you wont refuse to ride with me.
AMARGO: Wait a while.
RIDER: Come on, jump on! Climb up fast. Weve got to get
there before day breaks. . . And take this knife. Ill
give it to you!
AMARGO: Ay yayayay!
(The rider helps Amargo up. The two of them set off
towards Granada. The sierra in the background becomes
covered, with cactus and nettles.)
AMARGO: Why?
129
CANCION DE LA MADRE DEL AMARGO
Lo llevan puesto en mi sabana
mis adelfas y mi palma.
Dia veintisiete de agosto
con un cuchillito de oro.
La cruz. jY vamos andando!
Era moreno y amargo.
Vecinas, dadme una jarra
de azofar con limonada.
La cruz. No llorad ninguna.
El Amargo esta en la luna.
9 de julio, 1925
130
SONG OF AMARGOS MOTHER
They carry him placed upon my sheet,
upon my oleander and my palm leaves.
The twenty-seventh day of August,
with a tiny little knife of gold.
The cross. And so much for that!
He was so dark and so very bitter.
Neighbor ladies, bring me a brass
pitcher filled full of lemonade.
The cross. Dont anybody weep.
For Amargo is now in the moon.
July 9, 1925
131
TRANSLATORS NOTES
Page 41.
Page 47.
Page 77.
Page 79.
Page 81.
Page 89.
Archers, line 3.
Lorca means open to the sea. The Guadalquivir is navig
able all the way up to Sevilla.
Procession," final line.
Durandarte was originally the name of Rolands sword;
later, a character in legends of Spanish literature. Here
Lorca appears to be referring to Don Quixote, Part II, Chap
ter XXI I I , where Durandartes story is recounted. Duran
darte asked his friend, Montesinos, to cut out his heart
with a dagger and take it to Lady Belerma. . . . a furious
Orlando" is an allusion to Lodovico Ariostos famous poem
Orlando Furioso.
Portrait of Silverio Franconetti
Franconetti (1825-1893) was the most important singer of
the 19th century. His father was Italian and his mother
was from Moron de la Frontera. His cabaret, Cafe Silverio,
became the focal point of deep song during those years.
Juan Breva
J uan Breva (1835-1915), whose real name was Antonio
Ortega, became the first commercial artist of flamenco.
Breva was the greatest singer of malaguenas of his time.
His fame was such that he even sang at the Royal Palace.
He died in poverty after having thrown away a fortune
in his native town of Velez-Malaga.
Flamenco Cabaret, line 4.
Dolores La Parrala was one of the great interpreters of
the siguiriya.
Malaguena
Malaguena is not properly part of deep song, but rather
belongs to the fandango family. Malaguena also means
woman of Malaga, and Lorca plays with the double
meaning.
133
Page 93.
Page 99.
Page 101.
Dance, line 1.
This is Bizets Carmen, but now she is an old wofnan.
Castanet
Crotalo has two meanings: castanet and rattlesnake.
Prickly Pear, line 4.
The prickly pear plant looks like a multi-armed jai alai
player.
134
CITY LIGHTS PUBLICATIONS
Acosta, Juvenal, ed. LIGHT FROM A NEARBY WINDOW: Contemporary Mexican Poetry
Alberti, Rafael. CONCERNING THE ANGELS
Alcalay, Ammiel, ed. KEYS TO THE GARDEN: New Israeli Writing
Alcalay, Ammiel. MEMORIES OF OUR FUTURE: Selected Essays 1982-1999
Allen, Roberta. AMAZON DREAM
Angulo de, G. & J. JAIME IN TAOS
Angulo, Jaime de. INDIANS IN OVERALLS
Artaud, Antonin. ARTAUD ANTHOLOGY
Barker, Molly. SECRET LANGUAGE
Bataille, Georges. EROTISM: Death and Sensuality
BataiUe, Georges. THE IMPOSSIBLE
Bataille, Georges. STORY OF THE EYE
Bataille, Georges. THE TEARS OF EROS
Baudelaire, Charles. TWENTY PROSE POEMS
Blake, N., Rinder, L., & A. Scholder, eds. IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT: Visual Culture, Sexual Culture,
Queer Practice
Blanco, Alberto. DAWN OF THE SENSES: Selected Poems
Blechman, Max. REVOLUTIONARY ROMANTICISM
Bowles, Paul. A HUNDRED CAMELS IN THE COURTYARD
Bramly, Serge. MACUMBA: The Teachings of Maria-Jos, Mother of the Gods
Breton, Andr<. ANTHOLOGY OF BLACK HUMOR
Brook, James, Chris Carlsson, Nancy J. Peters eds. RECLAIMING SAN FRANCISCO: History
Politics Culture
Brook, James & Iain A. Boal. RESISTING THE VIRTUAL LIFE: Culture and Politics of Information
Broughton, James. COMING UNBUTTONED
Brown, Rebecca. ANNIE OAKLEY'S GIRL
Brown, Rebecca. THE DOGS
Brown, Rebecca. THE TERRIBLE GIRLS
Bukowski, Charles. THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN TOWN
Bukowski, Charles. NOTES OF A DIRTY OLD MAN
Bukowski, Charles. TALES OF ORDINARY MADNESS
Burroughs, William S. THE BURROUGHS FILE
Burroughs, William S. THE YAGE LETTERS
Campana, Dino. ORPHIC SONGS
Cassady, Neal. THE FIRST THIRD
Chin, Sara. BELOW THE LINE
Churchill, Ward. FANTASIES OF THE MASTER RACE: Literature, Cinema and the Colonization
of American Indians
Churchill, Ward. A LITTLE MATTER OF GENOCIDE: Holocaust and Denial in America, 1492 to
the Present
CITY LIGHTS REVIEW #3: Media and Propaganda
CITY LIGHTS REVIEW #4: Literature / Politics / Ecology
Cocteau, Jean. THE WHITE BOOK (LE UVRE BLANC)
Comford, Adam. ANIMATIONS
Corso, Gregory. GASOLINE
Cort&zar, Julio. SAVE TWILIGHT
Cuadros, Gil. CITY OF GOD
Daumal, Rend. THE POWERS OF THE WORD
David-Neel, Alexandra. SECRET ORAL TEACHINGS IN TIBETAN BUDDHIST SECTS
Deleuze, Gilles. SPINOZA: Practical Philosophy
Dick, Leslie. KICKING
Dick, Leslie. WITHOUT FALLING
di Prima, Diane. PIECES OF A SONG: Selected Poems
Doolittle, Hilda (H.D.). NOTES ON THOUGHT & VISION
Ducomet, Rikki. ENTERING FIRE
Ducomet, Rikki. THE MONSTROUS AND THE MARVELOUS
Eberhardt, Isabelle. DEPARTURES: Selected Writings
Eberhardt, Isabelle. THE OBLIVION SEEKERS
Eidus, Janice. THE CELIBACY CLUB
Eidus, Janice. URBAN BUSS
Eidus, Janice. VITO LOVES GERALDINE
Ferlinghetti, L. ed. CITY LIGHTS POCKET POETS ANTHOLOGY
Ferlinghetti, L., ed. ENDS & BEGINNINGS (City Lights Review #6)
Ferlinghetti, L. PICTURES OF THE GONE WORLD
Finley, Karen. SHOCK TREATMENT
Ford, Charles Henri. OUT OF THE LABYRINTH: Selected Poems
Franzen, Cola, transl. POEMS OF ARAB ANDALUSIA
Frym, Gloria. DISTANCE NO OBJECT
Gartfa Lorca, Federico. BARBAROUS NIGHTS: Legends & Plays
Garcia Lorca, Federico. ODE TO WALT WHITMAN & OTHER POEMS
Garcfa Lorca, Federico. POEM OF THE DEEP SONG
Garon, Paul. BLUES & THE POETIC SPIRIT
Gil de Biedma, Jaime. LONGING: SELECTED POEMS
Ginsberg, Allen. THE FALL OF AMERICA
Ginsberg, Allen. HOWL & OTHER POEMS
Ginsberg, Allen. KADDISH & OTHER POEMS
Ginsberg, Allen. MIND BREATHS
Ginsberg, Allen. PLANET NEWS
Ginsberg, Allen. PLUTONIAN ODE
Ginsberg, Allen. REALITY SANDWICHES
Goethe, J. W. von. TALES FOR TRANSFORMATION
G6mez-Pena, Guillermo. THE NEW WORLD BORDER
Goytisolo, Juan. THE MARX FAMILY SAGA
Guillen, Jorge. HORSES IN THE AIR AND OTHER POEMS
Harryman, Carla. THERE NEVER WAS A ROSE WITHOUT A THORN
Herron, Don. THE DASHIELL HAMMETT TOUR: A Guidebook
Higman, Perry, tr. LOVE POEMS FROM SPAIN AND SPANISH AMERICA
Hinojosa, Francisco. HECTIC ETHICS
Jaffe, Harold. EROS: ANTI-EROS
Jenkins, Edith. AGAINST A FIELD SINISTER
Katzenberger, Elaine, ed. FIRST WORLD, HA HA HA!: The Zapatista Challenge
Keenan, Larry. POSTCARDS FROM THE UNDERGROUND: Portraits of the Beat Generation
Kerouac, Jack. BOOK OF DREAMS
Kerouac, Jack. POMES ALL SIZES
Kerouac, Jack. SCATTERED POEMS
Kerouac, Jack. SCRIPTURE OF THE GOLDEN ETERNITY
Kirkland, Will. GYPSY CANTE: Deep Song of the Caves
Lacarrtere, Jacques. THE GNOSTICS
La Duke, Betty. COMPANERAS
La Loca. ADVENTURES ON THE ISLE OF ADOLESCENCE
Lamantia, Philip. BED OF SPHINXES: SELECTED POEMS
Lamantia, Philip. MEADOWLARK WEST
Laughlin, James. SELECTED POEMS: 1935-1985
Laure. THE COLLECTED WRITINGS
Le Brun, Annie. SADE: On the Brink of the Abyss
Mackey, Nathaniel. SCHOOL OF UDHRA
Mackey, Nathaniel. WHATSAID SERIF
Masereel, Frans. PASSIONATE JOURNEY
Mayakovsky, Vladimir. LISTEN! EARLY POEMS
Mehmedinovic, Semezdin. SARAJEVO BLUES
Minghelli, Marina. MEDUSA: The Fourth Kingdom
Morgan, William. BEAT GENERATION IN NEW YORK
Mrabet, Mohammed. THE BOY WHO SET THE FIRE
Mrabet, Mohammed. THE LEMON
Mrabet, Mohammed. LOVE WITH A FEW HAIRS
Mrabet, Mohammed. M'HASHISH
Murgula, A. & B. Paschke, eds. VOLCAN: Poems from Central America
Nadir, Shams. THE ASTROLABE OF THE SEA
O'Hara, Frank. LUNCH POEMS
Pacheco, Josd Emilio. CITY OF MEMORY AND OTHER POEMS
Parenti, Michael. AGAINST EMPIRE
Parenti, Michael. AMERICA BESIEGED
Parenti, Michael. BLACKSHIRTS & REDS
Parenti, Michael. DIRTY TRUTHS
Parenti, Michael. HISTORY AS MYSTERY
Pasolini, Pier Paolo. ROMAN POEMS
Pessoa, Fernando. ALWAYS ASTONISHED
Pessoa, Fernando. POEMS OF FERNANDO PESSOA
Peters, Nancy J., ed. WAR AFTER WAR (City Lights Review #5)
Poe, Edgar Allan. THE UNKNOWN POE
Porta, Antonio. KISSES FROM ANOTHER DREAM
Prdvert, Jacques. PAROLES
Purdy, James. THE CANDLES OF YOUR EYES
Purdy, James. GARMENTS THE LIVING WEAR
Purdy, James. IN A SHALLOW GRAVE
Purdy, James. OUT WITH THE STARS
Rachlin, Nahid. THE HEART'S DESIRE
Rachlin, Nahid. MARRIED TO A STRANGER
Rachlin, Nahid. VEILS: SHORT STORIES
Reed, Jeremy. DELIRIUM: An Interpretation of Arthur Rimbaud
Reed, Jeremy RED-HAIRED ANDROID
Rey Rosa, Rodrigo. THE BEGGAR'S KNIFE
Rey Rosa, Rodrigo. DUST ON HER TONGUE
Rigaud, Milo. SECRETS OF VOODOO
Rodriguez, Artemio and Herrera, Juan Felipe. LOTERIA CARDS AND FORTUNE POEMS
Ross, Dorien. RETURNING TO A
Ruy Sdnchez, Alberto. MOGADOR
Saadawi, Nawal El. MEMOIRS OF A WOMAN DOCTOR
Sawyer-Lauqanno, Christopher. THE CONTINUAL PILGRIMAGE: American Writers in Paris
1944-1960
Sawyer-Lauganno, Christopher, transl. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE JAGUAR
Scholder, Amy, ed. CRITICAL CONDITION: Women on the Edge of Violence
Schelling, Andrew, tr. CANE GROVES OF NARMADA RIVER: Erotic Poems from Old India
Sclauzero, Mariarosa. MARLENE
Serge, Victor. RESISTANCE
Shepard, Sam. MOTEL CHRONICLES
Shepard, Sam. FOOL FOR LOVE & THE SAD LAMENT OF PECOS BILL
Smith, Michael. IT A COME
Solnit, Rebecca. SECRET EXHIBITION: Six California Artists
Sussler, Betsy, ed. BOMB: INTERVIEWS
Takahashi, Mutsuo. SLEEPING SINNING FALLING
Turyn, Anne, ed. TOP TOP STORIES
Tutuola, Amos. SIMBI & THE SATYR OF THE DARK JUNGLE
Ullman, Ellen. CLOSE TO THE MACHINE: Technophilia and Its Discontents
Valaoritis, Nanos. MY AFTERLIFE GUARANTEED
VandenBroeck, Andrd. BREAKING THROUGH
Vega, Janine Pommy. TRACKING THE SERPENT
Veltri, George. NICE BOY
Waldman, Anne. FAST SPEAKING WOMAN
Wilson, Colin. POETRY AND MYSTICISM
Wilson, Peter Lambom. PLOUGHING THE CLOUDS
Wilson, Peter Lambom. SACRED DRIFT
Wynne, John. THE OTHER WORLD
Zamora, Daisy RIVERBED OF MEMORY
POEM OF THE DEEP SONG
POEMA DEL CANTE JONDO
Tin- magic of Andalusia is cr yst al !i n Federico ()ardn Lorca s 11r^r
major work Poem aj the f\v[>Stmg. written in 1^21when the poet was
rwenrv-three years old, and published a decade later In this group of
poems, based on sde'tas. solcdres, and sittiriyas. Lorca capture'' the
passionate flamenco cosmos of Andalusia s Gypsies those mvsteri-
ous wandering tolk who gave deep sons i*s definitive form
Came jondo. deep song. comes from a musical tradition that devel
oped among peoples who fled into the mountains in the 15th centurv
to escape the Spanish I nquisition With roots in Arabic instruments
Sephardic ritual. Bv:antine liturgy. native folk songs. and. above all.
the rhythms of Gypsy life, deep song is characterized bv intense and
profound emotion
Fearing that the priceless heritage of deep song might vanish from
Spain. Lorca, along with Manuel de Falla and other voung artists
hoped to preserve the artistic treasure of an entire race In Poem of
rh: Dee/1Sc mg, the poet's own lyric genius gives c.intc jondo a special
kind of immortality
Translated by Carlos Bauer
Carlos Bauer is the translator of Garcia Lorcas The Public and Play
mthotit ii Title Two Posthumous Pl ays. and of Cri es from a U nunda/
Miidrii! Poetry of the S/ujnisn Ci vi l Uar He has also translated the
work of Henry Miller and other contemporary American writers into
Spanish